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Coconuts or Statins?

Posted:
12/13/2012 03:54:11 PM MST

Before I get into today's health topic: someone asked me the other day how I was able to put a wood heater in a motorhome. Actually, it's a wood cookstove. There are lots of pictures and text on www.larryRmiller.com explaining how it's done.

Statins, with annual sales of more than $26 billion, are the most prescribed class of drugs in human history. According to a new study, natural coconut water may be equal, better, do more and costs less.

Biochemists in India found natural water from coconuts has the same cholesterol lowering effect as lovastatin, the generic form of the brand name drugs Mevacor and Altocor. Researchers fed two groups of rats a fat-cholesterol enriched diet for 45 days. One group was given natural coconut water, the other was given the statin drug lovastatin.

Coconut water lowered blood levels of total cholesterol, VLDL and LDL cholesterol and triglycerides plus it increased good HDL cholesterol levels. The study results for lovastatin were similar.

Coconut water contains biologically active l-arginine, ascorbic acid, calcium, Coconut water contains every one of the essential electrolytes in a biologically active form plus ascorbic acid, l-arginine, phosphorus and higher in potassium, an electrolyte, than bananas. A proper balance of electrolytes is necessary for muscle coordination, heart and nerve function and mental concentration. Researchers credited those components for the beneficial effects on blood cholesterol levels.

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There haven't been any human trials yet so don't stop taking your prescription drugs and drink coconut water instead.

Statins have been linked to more than 300 side effects including diabetes, muscle pain, and memory impairment. Rhabdomyolysis, the breakdown of muscle that can be caused by statins, can result in death from acute kidney failure due to overload of the kidneys with deteriorated muscle tissue.
In one study at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, researchers studied 6,673 men and women with an average age of 59. They found a 52 percent increase in calcified coronary plaque, aka hardening of the arteries, in those who were on statins. Their findings showed that statins increased the risk of atherosclerosis.

Coconut water has the same electrolyte balance as our blood. During World War II it was used in the Pacific for intravenous hydration and as emergency plasma transfusions. Coconut water has been used in tropical climates for rehydration during any illness where fluids are lost and can rehydrate the body naturally.

A study from the West Indies showed coconut water may significantly reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure in hypertensive patients. The electrolytes in coconut water are critical for a wide range of other body functions.

Here are some other coconut water health benefits: ulcer prevention, Alzheimer's plaque prevention, tooth and semen preservation, lowering oxidative stress and blood sugar levels in diabetics, combatting bacterial infections and equal or superior to sports drinks for electrolyte replacement. Read the labels to make sure it's doesn't have added chemicals and sugars.

References and information sources available upon request.

Larry R. Miller has been a freelance writer, worldwide health and fitness information source since 1982.